Gary Woodland is chasing a lead in Houston while confronting a different kind of comeback
gary woodland opened the Texas Children’s Houston Open with a 6-under 64 on Thursday in Houston, sitting one shot behind Paul Waring after Round 1 at Memorial Park, in a week that has framed competition and personal recovery side by side.
How did gary woodland end up one shot off the lead after Round 1?
Paul Waring, the Englishman, took the first-round lead with a 7-under 63, building a one-shot cushion over gary woodland. Waring’s round was defined by a series of escapes that preserved a bogey-free card, including an 18-foot par save after a tee shot into the water on the 17th and a risky recovery from thick grass near a hazard area by a small creek on the par-5 eighth that still ended in par.
gary woodland’s 64 also stayed clean deep into the round. The blemish came at the par-3 seventh, where taking on a left pin sent the ball into a deep bunker; he played out to 20 feet and made bogey. The response was immediate: a pitch to 6 feet set up birdie on the par-5 eighth, and a 10-foot birdie on the final hole closed the round.
Behind the top two, Sam Burns, Michael Brennan and Tom Hoge each posted 5-under 65. Marco Penge sat among a larger group at 66, after a recent tie for fourth at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort.
What obstacles are shaping the story for gary woodland and Paul Waring?
The early leaderboard carries a layered context. Both Waring and gary woodland are described as being in the midst of overcoming “big obstacles of a different nature. ” For gary woodland, that includes brain surgery in September 2023 to remove a lesion. Two weeks ago, he also spoke publicly about struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder in an emotional interview with Golf Channel.
In Houston, gary woodland described a sense of relief after sharing those experiences. After finishing Round 1 with birdies on his last two holes, he said the process of opening up left him feeling “a thousand pounds lighter. ” The setting also matters: he was runner-up at this event a year ago, and he described comfort in being back in Houston.
Waring’s path has run through injury and disruption. He gained a PGA TOUR card through his DP World Tour standing after a win in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2024, but then dealt with a sore shoulder that required cortisone shots and ultimately sidelined him for five months beginning in July. He described the start of his PGA TOUR career as difficult, including time away from familiar faces from players to caddies to golf officials. Even after returning, he missed the cut in his first three PGA TOUR starts, though he maintained he could fix the mistakes. In Houston, he said his week had been “a lot tidier, ” adding he had been told he holed over 160 feet of putts in the first round.
What else changed in the field as the Masters invitation deadline looms?
Round 1 also carried consequences beyond Houston. This is the final week for players to move into the top 50 in the world to earn a Masters invitation. Pierceson Coody, described as on the bubble at No. 51, opened with a 70 and was set to begin Friday outside the cut line.
At the other end of the scoring spectrum, Brooks Koepka endured a difficult stretch at Memorial Park, a public course he consulted on the design of. He made three double bogeys in the middle of his round—on the par-3 seventh, the par-3 ninth, and the 10th after needing two shots to get out of a bunker—finishing with a 75. He will need a low round Friday to make the cut in his final start before the Masters.
For gary woodland, the opening day placed him in immediate contention while the larger storyline continues to unfold: a high-level round in a familiar event, set against recovery from major health challenges and the ongoing process of speaking openly about them.
